Well our trip has come to an end and I’m sure you have figured out that we must have had a great time from my lack of blogging. We had a wonderful time seeing family and friends, catching up on all we missed throughout the year, meeting a new member who entered the world this year (the joy of holding a freshie J) and soaking up all of the love that our family and friends gave so freely. We were also able to get our fill of green chili right on up to the boarding of the plane, a breakfast burrito to go please. In fact, we had so many bags during our check in process the attendant was sure that we were taking chili back, which is the norm for the Albuquerque airport. It was a no on the chili and a yes on a lot of stuff to bring back home to Florida, but knowing that the freezer at home is packed with chili does spread a smile across my face. While I believe I was the family member that was the most excited to move to Florida last year, today I think we are all equally happy that Florida is now our home since I seriously think we are allergic to New Mexico! When we arrived my son sneezed as soon as the cabin doors were open and none of us have stopped since! Along with the sneezing, we were also graced with itchy eyes, bloody noses from the dryness, rash from the sun (yep, the NM sun does not like myself or my daughter, elevation seems to make a big difference!) and the dry skin that even a bottle of baby oil couldn’t cure! Now I know that there are probably those who couldn’t imagine living in Florida but I for one love my beaches, my palm trees and the humidity (yes you heard that right) and I know that I am blessed to call Florida home. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a few things I love about NM; I love my family and friends (even though I talked about all that they were missing out on by not living in Florida, in fact, you would have thought I worked for their tourism department), I love that chili is available 24/7, the month of July in Taos is amazing, and the autumn colors during Fall in our mountains are spectacular, the yellows and oranges are the most vibrant colors that any description I was to give you would not do them justice. Yes, I know the list isn’t very long but when you truly love where you live as I do you wonder why you weren’t there in the first place. The words God’s plan and appreciate come to mind.

Enough with the reminiscing this is a food blog after all; I guess I just missed you. You already know about all of the chili I consumed, but there was other food that had me saying yum. This is also where the girlfriends and drinks will also come into play. One evening I was able to join my mom and aunts for drinks and appetizers at a place called Savoy and I ordered their chicken, prosciutto and blue cheese fritters with a romanesco dipping sauce. These little fried morsels were oh so tasty, but then again, they were fried and had prosciutto, how could they not be!

Another evening I met up with one of my girlfriends and we started our evening at one of the bars in the uptown area soaking up martinis before heading to a place called Marcello’s (I believe that was the name) for dinner. There I had one of their BLT salads with a side of their truffle mac n’ cheese. While I felt the mac n’ cheese needed much more cheese (just my opinion) the salad made up for the lack of gooeyness I was expecting. The salad was along the lines of a caprese salad with it’s thick slices of mozzarella, tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette dressing, but tucked between was perfectly cooked slices of prosciutto, giving the BLT salad a thumbs up from me and confirming that everything is better with bacon!

Okay, on to Italian food, more drinks and no kids. Disclaimer: Do not misunderstand me, I love my children, but when you move away from family and friends you lose your babysitters! For the past year it’s been kiddos 24/7 and I was determined to let them spend as much time with the relatives as possible. I joined my mother-in-law and sister-in-law at Bravo! Italian Cucina for a feast of Italian food, which is my favorite type of food, in fact, if I could have an Italian grandmother live in my home teaching me all the Old World secrets I’d be thrilled. Maybe I should start taking applications, hmmm. We started off with an appetizer of fried ravioli accompanied by a marinara sauce and a horseradish sauce and then on to dinner entrée’s. I ordered the Chicken, Portobello Mushroom and Feta dish that was served over Linguine with a delicious cream sauce. The dish was great and I was happy that I chose it over the Fettucini Alfredo I usually order, also the Spaghetti and Meatballs and the Eggplant Parmesan were equally delicious according the girls.

During lunch with a bunch of my girlfriends one afternoon we ate at a Spanish restaurant called The Blue Corn or at least I believe that was the name. I had what I consider my standby when having Spanish food, a combination plate; it’s a dish that consists of a beef taco, a cheese enchilada and a chili relleno all smothered in green chili, all of my favorites on one dish. Although a couple of the girls had a dish called a New Mexican Shepherds Pie, and while I’m sure most of you are familiar with the original shepherds pie that consists of meat, veggies and mashed potatoes, this NM version had ground beef, fried potatoes, calabacitas (yellow and green squash, sauteed with onion), green chili and loads of cheese. This dish was tasty and a great idea, because in my book, a bunch of flavors all mixed together and topped with chili and cheese just has yum written all over it.

There were of course many more meals during my time away (which I’m hoping the scale does not reflect how many!) and each of them were equally great. Regardless if those meals were shared at a restaurant, a family dinner table or at a BBQ I love how food brings people together. I truly believe that the love that is shared between those who are gathered make those meals so much better.

My hope is that while I was gone, you were able to share many meals gathered around the table with your family and friends enjoying not only the great food but lots of love. As promised I will be back on Friday with a new menu for next week, which will include a July 4th celebration menu and a few new recipes that I picked up from family during my visit. Have a wonderful week, stay tuned for new changes that will be coming to my blog, a giveaway in the near future and as always, have a fabulous week! Ciao!

Posted by
Jo

2 comments:

A multi-dimensional life
said...

Jo, I'm so glad you enjoyed your time away! My mouth is watering after seeing and hearing about your delicious meals out...did you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner like that every day??? Impressive!!! :) Welcome Back!Lorraine

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Why this blog?

One of my greatest joys is having everyone at the dinner table each night, and if your like me, life gets busy, and getting to that sit down dinner can get complicated! Between your overwhelming schedule, your kids sports and activities, and all of the other commitments your family has planned, getting dinner to the table each night can be a bit overwhelming. To save you a trip through drive-thru I'd like to share with you my weekly menus that will feature 6 recipes. You will be able to arrange them to fit your week. Like God, I plan on resting on the 7th day, a perfect day for your family to take you out for dinner! :) Each week will feature: 2 "Quick Meals" to make when a meeting or sports event will have you busy in the evening. 3 "Got Some Time Meals" to make when you have a free evening, but, they won't be so complicated that you spend your whole evening in the kitchen. Last but not least, the week will have 1 "Pass the Wine, I got all the time to cook Meals". One trick that saves me lots of time are the recipes I make that have what I call "Freezer Value". A freezer value will explain what meals can be placed in your freezer that will be used in a different recipe throughout the month. Also, if a recipe is created by me; I choose to use ingredients that are full fat, I do not use non-fat or low-fat products due to the chemicals that are placed in them. If I've used another persons recipe, I print it as it was intended, but I substitute for full fat products. Each Friday I'll post my weekly menu and grocery list so you can arrange it to fit your week. Since this is a new project for me, please feel free to email me with your ideas for the site, there are a lot of talented people out there. Now, lets eat!